Here in Tennessee, we pride ourselves on the beauty of our state. Every road you drive is going to have something uniquely beautiful and interesting, and the roads outside of Townsend in East Tennessee are no different. While the town is known for its proximity to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the things hidden underground in the town are more likely to be known by the international intelligence community. Intrigued yet? Just keep reading….

Lee Coursey - Flickr
In the sleepy mountain town of Townsend, Tennesssee, there's a hidden spot that you wouldn't know existed unless you knew where to look.
Chris - Flickr
It's called Tuckaleechee Caverns. These caves are great to explore, but they hold a unique bit of American history.

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claratracy42 - Flickr
Not only is Tuckaleechee Caverns home to the tallest underground waterfall and the largest cavern room in the eastern United States, it's also a key location for the US military.
Tim Bounds - Flickr
Throughout the cave, the United Nations and US Department of Defense have installed the most sensitive seismic equipment in the world, used to measure earthquakes and nuclear tests around the world.
claratracy42 - Flickr
The data that the instruments collect is shown in real time on the monitor in the visitor center, and it's also beamed via encrypted satellite to the UN offices in Vienna, Austria. Pretty cool, huh?

The caverns are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from mid-March to mid-November. You can visit them and see what explosions and earthquakes the cave detects. They are located outside of Townsend at 825 Cavern Road.

After you’re done exploring the caves, spend the day on this authentic Tennessee paddle boat.

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